US DOJ Plans On Asking Courts To Force Google To Sell Chrome Browser

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly pushing to intensify its antitrust case against Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and force the sale of Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser on both PCs and mobiles. This move would mark a historic crackdown on one of the tech giants.

According to reports, the DOJ will seek the recommendation of Judge Mehta, who ruled in August that Google illegally monopolised the search engine market. The DOJ argues that Google’s dominance in search has led to its market dominance in the Android operating system and fueled its lead in artificial intelligence.

If Judge Mehta accepts the DOJ’s proposals, it could reshape the online search market and the trajectory of the AI industry. This case was initially filed under the Trump administration but continued under the Biden administration. It represents the most aggressive effort by regulators to contain a tech giant since the anti-trust cases filed against Microsoft in the late 1990s, which also involved an attempt to break up the software giant.

Chrome is crucial to Google’s advertising business. The company can monitor user activity and use the data to effectively target promotions, which generate a significant portion of its revenue and profit. Chrome is also being used to divert audiences towards Google’s AI chatbot, Gemini, which competes with popular AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. Gemini is evolving from an answer bot to an assistant that follows users around the web. 

“The Government continues to push a radical agenda that far exceeds the legal issues in this case,” said Lee Ann Mulholland, Google’s VP for regulatory affairs. She emphasised that the government’s interference would harm consumers, developers, and American technological leadership at a critical juncture.

The most significant news is that Chrome, which dominates the US web browser market with over 61 percent share, surpassed Microsoft’s Internet Explorer over a decade ago. This product played a pivotal role in launching Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai’s career.

The government retains the option to decide if Chrome’s sale is necessary at a later date if certain aspects of the remedy foster a more competitive market. This decision follows government contemplation of forcing the sale of the Android operating system, which could have catalyzed a profound transformation in the smartphone industry.

Google has appealed Mehta’s August ruling, which found Google guilty of violating antitrust laws in both online search and search text ads markets after a 10-week investigation in 2023. A two-week hearing in April will determine the necessary changes Google must make to rectify its illegal behavior, with a final ruling expected by August 2025.

To date, the DoJ has proposed several recommendations, including requiring Google to license search engine results and data, providing websites with more options to prevent their content from being used by Google’s AI products, and proposing that Google separate its operating system (Android) from other products like search and Google Play. Additionally, there will be a demand for Google to share more information with advertisers and grant them greater control over where their advertisements appear. 

There will also be a ban on exclusive contracts that Google has been engaging in with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), which was the crux of this case.

Experts believe that a forced purchase of Google’s assets would also depend on whether there is a buyer capable of purchasing an expensive business and one that itself isn’t attracting antitrust scrutiny. For instance, Amazon could be considering something like this, but it also has its own set of antitrust issues. Therefore, the plan of forcing the sale of Chrome by the Department of Justice (DoJ) appears to be a long shot.